Brazil, Gil, Stevie and our Climate

In conjunction with the World Cup in Brazil I am posting
this article on Gilberto Gil performing a song by Stevie Wonder.

I came across this live album with Gilberto Gil singing back when
I was expanding my awareness of the music of Brazil. While reading the liner notes I was intrigued
by the title of one of the pieces, “The Secret Life of Plants.” Having grown up a big fan of Stevie Wonder I
thought I knew most of Stevie’s music. I
had never heard of this Stevie Wonder composition so needless to say I was even
more intrigued.

There are several things I love about this song and
performance. I have somewhat of a
nostalgia for music of the 70s because I was a young kid then and I remember that
music as the soundtrack to many of my fun times growing up. This performance captures some of that mood
and Gil does a great job reinterpreting Stevie Wonder’s music with a Brazilian
sensibility. Gilberto’s emotive whistling
and sensitive guitar playing are refreshing amidst the acoustic setting and the
flute and percussion add a nice touch as well.

Gilberto Gil version

I was fortunate to find the original song and video of
Stevie Wonder’s version online and this is a real treat because it features a young
Stevie Wonder wearing his iconic hair beads and he is not wearing shades. We get a full glimpse of his eyes and facial expressions
as he sings this hauntingly beautiful melody.

Stevie Wonder’s version

I’ve also included below a video of Gilberto Gil and Stevie
Wonder doing a delightful informal performance of “Desafinado.”

Stevie and Gilberto singing "Desafinado"

It’s amazing to hear Stevie so playful amidst the myriad of
chord changes. His comfortability with
even the most complex music is fascinating and he even hints at his drumming
skills by using some synth drums to fill in at the end (some may not know that
Stevie plays drums as well and is the drummer on “Superstition” as well as some
of his other hits).

After doing some more research I had found out that Stevie composed
a whole soundtrack for a documentary entitled “The Secret Life of Plants” and
this song was the featured theme. The
movie documents scientific experiments from around the world on the
responsiveness of plants to human emotions and activity. It hypothesizes that plants have an intelligence
and can interact with humans. Some of
the early pioneers in plant research like Chandra Bose and George Washington
Carver are highlighted as well. You can
watch the full documentary here.

Secret Life of Plants Documentary

with Stevie’s music as the
Soundtrack

The import of this research shows how connected we are to
the planet around us and how our thoughts, emotions and actions have a
measurable effect even on the plants.
Like the saying in Spiderman “with great power comes great
responsibility,” and through research like this we are now becoming aware of
our own power over the planet we inhabit and thus we need to be act responsibly
in our treatment of the world around us.

This song, the research that inspired it and the
collaboration by Stevie and Gilberto, is a perfect commentary on our current
global situation. With the coming
together of so many countries for the World Cup to play together civilly, it’s
a wonder why we can’t come together outside of sport and realize our
responsibility to each other and the planet we all share.

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Dr.William E. Smith (W.E.S.) is an active
musician, producer, composer, author and educator who has released four albums
with his group, The W.E.S. Group, and has produced and recorded music for many
notable artists. He is a published author (Hip Hop as Performance and Ritual and How to Be an MC – CLS Publications,) and is the online ethnomusicology program coordinator at North Carolina
Central University.He also teaches
classes at Howard University.Prior to
that, he was an assistant professor of music and the jazz ensemble director at
American University in Washington, DC.

Aside from performing at
many jazz festivals and events in Anguilla, Bonaire, St. Lucia, California, New
York, United Kingdom, Morocco, India, and South Africa, Dr. Smith is an avid
composer.He has written music for TV
and film and has composed music for multimedia performances such as theater
performances and fashion shows.